Ewoud de Groot | Biography
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" To me, as an artist, producing a good painting is about exploring all the different facets of composition, colour and technique and not just reproducing an image in a photorealistic way. Although I consider myself a figurative painter, I always try to find that essential balance and tension between the more abstract background and the realism of the subject(s). In a way you could say that I am on the frontier between figurative and non-figurative, or the traditional and the modern. "
My technique is based on the principle of painting in layers, using cold blueish-grays and warm brownish-grays. This delicate balance ensures that they compliment and enhance each other. I start a painting by sketching with big brushstrokes and using the palette knife to look for the right composition, not allowing myself to be distracted by specifics. Once the form of the painting has been established then I begin to work on the birds or a particular detail of the bird(s) themselves.
My familiarity with wildlife has ensured that they have become my primary artistic focus. Their shape and colour and the balance of negative space around and between individuals. These are the main ingredients, also pattern, rhythm, depth and structure, all of which are vital in order to paint a good painting.
My subjects are mostly birds of the northern hemisphere, from Europe, Siberia and then into North America. I have encountered these species on many occasions on my trips throughout Europe, Poland Scandinavia, Russia, Canada, Wyoming and Alaska, where I used to work as a fishing guide a couple of summers.
In 2009 the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum purchased my entry for Birds in Art 2009 ; 'Phalarope's' this painting was inspired by the phalarope's I saw foraging on lake Hood, Anchorage Alaska."
FOREWORD
I first saw Ewoud de Groot's work at the 2005 Birds in Art exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wisconsin. It was an oil painting of a group of Oystercatchers and it captivated me, so much so that I bought it. Since then we have regularly exhibited together in USA and UK, and I have watched his work develop with interest. So much Wildlife Art relies on the viewer's affinity with the subject for its appeal, Ewoud's work is different, and his use of light, medium, interpretation and texture are unique, bringing a new perspective and freshness to the genre. These are true works of art that transcend the boundaries between wildlife and contemporary art.
Recently Ewoud sent me an image of a new painting telling me it was the 'first stage of my 'Laplanduil'. It was a painting of a Great Grey Owl flying straight towards the viewer, the head and body had a little detail, and the wings were roughed out and covered in splatters, all on a blank canvas. My immediate reaction was to email him back and say 'leave it like that'. After a little persuasion he did and that painting now hangs in our house along with a growing collection of Ewoud's work. Since then Ewoud has created more paintings in this pared down style, many of which are in this exhibition. They have a vitality and immediacy that brings the subject to life; these are paintings that one will never tire of viewing because they always have some new element to explore. They reward to viewer for time spent in their presence.
Simon Gudgeon
Sculptor
Simon is a renowned british sculptor, represented at the Halcyon gallery in London.
Recently his sculpture Isis was revealed at Hyde park, London.
Selected Exhibits:
National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, Wyoming 2007 2008 - 2009
Kunstzaal van Heijningen, The Hague, The Netherlands 2003 - 2004 - 2006 - 2007- 2008
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, BIA, Wausau, Wisconsin 2002 - 2003 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008
Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, US 2006 - 2007 - 2008
Wykeham Gallery, Stockbridge, UK 2006 - 2007 - 2008
Galerie van Strien, Nieuw -Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2005 - 2006 - 2008
Galerie Art Options, Wijk bij Duurstede, The Netherlands 2002 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008
Galerie Theobald's boothuisje, Ostende, Belgium 2002
Galerie Henk Pruijsen, Warmond, The Netherlands 2003
Museums and Corporate Collections:
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, US
Unilever, Rotterdam, The Netherland
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Kopenhagen, Denmark
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